Young females are voters’ choice

Beauty, they say, is in they eye of the beholder. It’s also very much in the eye of the voter, who choose young female candidates over every other age and sex group.

New research by UCC into the impact of ballot paper photographs has produced startling findings that lend credence to the widely held view that elections have been reduced to ‘beauty contests’.

For young female candidates performed better than all other candidates when ballot papers with photos were presented to respondents.

The research, carried out by UCC’s Department of Government, used actual 2004 election ballot photographs from a Dublin city electoral area but without including the names or party allegiances of any candidate. The respondents all came from Cork city, increasing the probability that the candidates were unknown to them.

The initial findings showed other striking trends, namely a strong tendency for women to vote for women - one candidate received 75% of her votes from women.

Actual performance of the candidates in the Dublin local elections almost exactly mirrored the preferences expressed in the survey. Four of the five elected candidates were selected by respondents in each of the three survey centres in Cork. Those surveyed would have elected an another female candidate.

The findings indicate an increased emphasis on image.